Contents

Overview

Beck is a young program who becomes the leader of a revolution inside the Grid. His mission is to free his home and friends from the reign of the villainous Clu and his henchman General Tesler. Beck is trained by Tron, the greatest warrior the Grid has ever come to know. Tron not only teaches Beck the fighting and light cycle skills he needs to challenge this brutal military occupation, but becomes a guide and mentor to him as he grows beyond his youthful, impulsive nature into a courageous, powerful, strong leader. Destined to become the next System Monitor of the system, Beck adopts Tron's persona and becomes the arch-enemy of General Tesler and his oppressive forces.

Biography

Beck's Beginning

Beck had worked at Able's garage for most of his life, carrying out his primary function of fixing and modifying vehicles. Then Clu took over, amid rumors of Tron's demise. When Beck's best friend Bodhi was derezzed before his eyes, he decided to take the fight back to the oppressor, and began his revolution by destroying a statue of Clu.

His actions did not go unnoticed. First chased by Clu's forces, and then by Paige, he stole a Light Crawler and tried to return to Argon City unseen. He was noticed, though. A tall, dark figure in a helmet chased after him and subdued him. The mysterious program cuffed Beck and took him to an interrogation room, gradually discovering everything that Beck had done. While the program was talking however, Beck was decoding his handcuffs using a special tool. He broke free and attacked the program but was defeated again with ease. It was then that the program revealed himself to Beck. It was Tron, damaged in battle with Clu. He needs a replacement, someone strong and determined enough to not give up the fight. Faced with such enormous responsibility, Beck gives in to uncertainty and turns Tron down.

After Beck got back to the garage, Tesler told the programs of Argon City that they had been volunteered for the games. Several programs had been captured, including Beck's friends, Zed and Mara. Beck followed the Light Rail that was transporting them and jumped onto it with his light cycle. There was one Black Guard patrolling and after a brief fight where the guard's helmet was knocked off, Beck looked into the program's eyes and spared his life. He managed to knock the light rail off it's beam and, with help from the guardsman, Beck located and freed his friends. His accomplice was derezzed only moments later when General Tesler launched a surprise attack of his own. The lengthy fight ended when Tesler fell from a building under construction, allowing Beck the opportunity to escape.

Back with Tron, Beck says that he's ready; he must do this. The wounded System Monitor splits the white half of his disc off, his white light suit converting to black,, and gives it to Beck who locks it to his own disc. As Beck replaced his disc on his back, his light suit became Tron's white version. The latter then told Beck, "Come. We have a lot of work to do, Tron."

The Renegade

Beck as Tron (The Renegade)

Beck's training with Tron was hard and often left him very tired. One night after his training, Beck was driving back to Argon City when a spotlight suddenly shown on him. He had broken curfew by being in the Outlands at that time of night. Beck escaped the pursuing guards by slipping into a massive cargo box. He soon found out, however, that several other programs were also in the container, and that it was taking them to the games.

Beck befriended two programs, Rilo and Cutler, and when the games began, the three of them lasted longer than the others before Rilo was derezzed. Beck and Cutler defeated the first round of enemies soon after. Then, while being transported to the Light Cycle Arena, they escaped but were soon recaptured by Paige, who cuffed them together and threw back into the games, this time to face three light cycles. Again, though cuffed together, Beck and Cutler prevailed. Pavel, seeing that their success had enraged Tesler, suggested that the prisoners fight each other to the death, with freedom as a prize for the winner. Cutler forfeited so that he and Beck would not have to derez each other. Tesler, furious, was willing to derez them both, but Paige, showing her more compassionate side, convinced him keep his promise to the crowd and set Beck free, slating Cutler to be derezzed.

Beck, disguised as the Renegade, returned to rescue Cutler, and after a lengthy escape from Argon City that involved drawbridges and Light Boat chases, Cutler told his savior to make sure his friend Beck was thanked. Beck, as Tron, reassured him and told him that the way to help his cause was to help spread the word that Tron lived and that the revolution needed recruits.

After returning to Able's garage and helping his friends restore Able's ENCOM 786, Beck again met up with Tron in his safehouse. They still had much to do, though Beck had passed the first major test of his skills.

Blackout

Finishing an intense training simulation, Tron criticized Beck for removing his mask where potential foes could see him. As they quarreled, the power in Tron's safehouse flickered, along with the lights in Argon City. Seeking the source of the disruption, Tron led Beck to an energy drill that was sapping the energy from Argon City and everything around it. If enough energy was drained, the programs of Argon would derez. Beck's task was to navigate a maze of tunnels underneath the drilling area in order to plant a light grenade under the grill and take it out of commission.

Back at Able's garage, Beck asked for time off. His boss and peers were under the impression the Beck was just getting lazy and it took a while to convince Able. Beck then asked Zed to work his shift, and learned that Zed intended to compete in the Argon Race—which would be routed straight through the endangered tunnels.

In his guise as the Renegade, Beck planted the light grenade and traveled back through the tunnels to stop the three remaining racers: Zed, Hopper, and Bartik. But Paige overheard him telling them why they had to turn back, and took off toward the energy drill to deactivate the grenade. Beck, hoping to save her from the explosion, stole Zed's speed-enhanced light cycle and pursued her, leaving Zed stranded (and angry) but safe. Paige was too late to stop the explosion, and she and Beck raced away through the tunnels, trying to escape the derezzing blast that was licking their back wheels. Paige began to fall behind and Beck, realizing that her bike wasn't fast enough and fearing for her life, pulled her onto his light cycle as hers was enveloped in explosive energy, despite her attempts to disable him. Once they'd escaped the tunnels, Beck left Paige in the Outlands and drove off.

Back at Argon City, Beck and Tron witnessed General Tesler give a speech in which he blamed the renegade for the blackouts and promised the programs of Argon that the renegade will be brought to "justice." Tron then commented to Beck, "If we prevail in this conflict, they'll understand."

Identity

Beck sabotaged the signs in Argon Square to read, "Tron Lives." Tesler's guards formed a cordon to scan the discs of everyone present before they could leave the area; Beck, obviously not wanting to have his disc scanned, allowed an equally reluctant program named Galt to lead him past the guards and onto a light rail. However, Galt stole Beck's disc when he wasn't looking, taunting him by holding it up as the next train left for Purgos. Beck, unable to follow, returned to Tron's safehouse, where Tron gave him a fake disc to use temporarily.

They later headed to Purgos Alley, where they visited a pawn shop. The salesman, Kobol, was disinclined to help, but promised to ask around after Beck pleaded with him. However, Tron knew that Kobol was lying to them, and as he and Beck arrived at the place where they were to meet with him, they where surrounded by a gang of programs who attacked them. During the ensuing fight, Beck had his first glitch, but the pair were surprised by the unexpected intervention of a siren named Lux, who helped them defeat the gang and then led them to safety.

Their search took them to a club, where Tron noticed a program staring at Beck. Recognizing Galt, the trio chased him down a hallway and cornered him. While Tron was interrogating him, a disc burst through the door they'd cornered him against and derezzed him, preventing him from naming his confederates. Lux, Beck, and Tron gave chase to the killer, but Beck glitched again and was injured when he crashed into the fleeing program's light ribbon.

Lux took the two programs back to her apartment, where she healed Beck's injury as best she could. Beck had another glitch, losing more of his memory. When Tron tried to get him to remember, Lux knocked Tron out with an electric charge from a light staff. She and Kobol, with whom she was working, convinced Beck that he was really on Tesler's side, and attempted to lead him to a rendezvous where Occupation soldiers would pick him up as a stray to be repurposed.

Beck, beliving Kobol's story, accompanied him, and struck Tron down when, freed after a change of heart by Lux, his mentor arrived to stop them. When Kobol told him to derez Tron, Beck resisted, still guided by his innate compassion. Tron then unmasked himself and begged Beck to be who he really was, arguing that he was not a killer, with his memories or without them. Kobol attacked, but in the ensuing battle Beck retrieved his own disc; with his memory restored, the two attempted to escape Tesler's approaching forces, but Kobol handcuffed himself to Beck. Lux, her change of heart complete once she'd seen that Tron really lived, derezzed Kobol and threw herself into the fight, buying time for Beck and Tron to escape.

The two later released Lux's open disc into an energy pool in the Outlands, and Tron admitted that he had been cool toward Beck because a friend had betrayed him in the past.

Isolated

Beck was tasked with steal a vital data cube, one that contained all of Tesler's plans, security codes and blueprints. Sneaking aboard the general's command ship, Beck successfully stole the small cube. He was detected in the process, however, and just barely managed to fly out of the closing doors in his light jet. Paige was the first to respond to his theft, giving chase in a light copter. Dismissing it as a minor threat due to the slow speed of the copter, Beck then noticed Pavel and a squadron of light jets giving pursuit. In the confusion, Paige managed to damage Beck's vehicle, nearly destroying her own in the process. Both combatants spun, out of control, to the island below. Beck ejected before the impact and was able to hide from Pavel and his squad until they flew off.

Beck noticed that the crash from his jet had destabilized the code of the island; it was derezzing at an increasingly fast rate. The situation was getting critical. Thinking fast, Beck decided to join forces with Paige, but she rejected his offer at once, attacking him and even taking back the data cube. Paige was determined to escape the island alone and, with a makeshift raft, attempted to do just that. However, her raft malfunctioned and sunk, leaving her to swim ashore where Beck stood waiting for her, gibing, "Still think you don't need my help?"

After much arguing, Beck roused Paige from her apathy, at which point she noticed an injury on his arm. The wound, she informed him, could cause him to lose the arm if it wasn't healed. After asking her to swear that she wouldn't betray him, Beck handed her his disc so she could address the problem properly; her quick, professional treatment of the injury surprised him. Neither was sure what to make of the moment, and Paige, abruptly brusque, claimed she was only helping him because she needed his help.

The duo began working together, using parts from Paige's light copter and the remains of Beck's light jet to make a vehicle that could get them off the island. As the makeshift light boat was nearing completion, a large portion of the island—one the Paige was standing on—suddenly derezzed, throwing her over the side of a cliff where she caught a small handhold. Beck quickly rushed to complete the boat in order to rescue her, but even as he sped towards her, a large chunk of the island collapsed, knocking her unconscious and into the water. Beck dove into the water to save her, but was forced to hide as a light copter, manned by Tesler and Pavel, lowered a crane arm to retrieve her and flew back to Argon City.

Back at Tron's safehouse, Beck told his mentor what happened at the island. Tron was not angry about the loss of the data cube, but instead praised Beck for risking his life to save an enemy.

The Price of Power

Beck infiltrated the dirigible carrying the scientist Shaw, and successfully stole the power upgrade weapon Shaw had been bringing to Tesler. However, Shaw was derezzed in a crazed attempt to fight back, and Tron, upset that the scientist had not been retrieved too, ordered Beck to destroy the weapon. Beck, however, was ambushed by Tesler's forces, and used the weapon to his life, managing to defeat all of the attacking Black Guards and Paige's Light Copter. However, the weapon changed him; along with providing its promised massive power upgrade, it turned his eyes a sinister red and twisted him with its malevolent and corrupting power.

Wearing the weapon, Beck returned to Able's garage, where he shocked Mara by attacking and nearly derezzing Hopper. Instead of destroying the weapon, he eavesdropped on a conversation between Able and Copper, and determined to follow them aboard Tesler's command ship and destroy the giant battle tank they were delivering. However, the resulting battle resulted in injuries to Able, and Beck, bringing him back to the garage unconscious, began to have second thoughts.

He headed back to the hideout, facing Tron's anger at his failure to destroy the weapon. Beck tried to convince Tron that he needed the weapon to succeed as the Renegade, but when Tron attempted to take it from him and he instinctively fought back and nearly injured his mentor, he realized that the destructive effect it was having on him was not justified by the power it granted.

Beck went back to the garage, only to find that Pavel had taken the programs working there hostage. He snuck into the facility to destroy the weapon with the garage's high-powered welder, but Pavel stole the weapon from the welder pad when his back was turned. The resulting battle turned the welder's beam loose, causing a great deal of damage in the garage. Beck used his stealth and willpower to defeat Pavel by dropping on him from above, and then held the disc high in the air, allowing the beam from the energy welder to slice it in half.

Later, Beck and Zed watched Mara patch up her injured arm. Mara wished she could thank "Tron" for saving her from the wreckage of the garage. Beck remarked that it was Zed who had saved her, evading Zed's later questioning as to how he'd known what had happened when he apparently hadn't been there.

The Reward

Scars, Part 1

When he was tasked to capture Dyson and bring him to the hideout, Beck protested that if Dyson was brought back to Tron's hideout, he would have to be derezzed in order to keep Tron's secret safe, but Tron insisted that it was the only way.

Beck's first attempt to capture Dyson failed when the veteran security program sensed the trap he had set. Returning to Tron, Beck attempted a strategem to convince him that he could steal Dyson's disc instead of capturing him, eliminating the need to derezz him. Tron, enraged, disclosed that Dyson's death was the whole point of the exercise. Beck, trying to stop him, was stunned and knocked out with a light taser, and Tron retrieved the half-disc they had shared and went after Dyson himself!

Scars, Part 2

Grounded

We Both Know How This Ends

The Stranger

Tagged

State of Mind

Welcome Home

Rendezvous

No Bounds

Terminal

With Tron dying, Beck found a way to rescue him on Cutler's super recognizer, in order to restore Tron back to full strength so he could fight again.

Personality

Beck as an individual possesses a laid-back personality. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and playing disc games with them. Beck also has good sense of humor, which becomes more frivolous when disguised as the renegade; this sometimes puts him at odds with his more serious mentor, Tron. Beck has shown on numerous occasions that he has a noble personality, refusing to take the life of other programs, even if they are part of the occupation; Tron cites this as one of many reasons why he chose Beck as his successor. Beck's belief in the sanctity of other programs' lives persisted even when his memories were lost, and at another time caused him to take great risks in an attempt to prevent Tron from killing Dyson for revenge. Beck also seems to be having deep feelings for his enemy Paige when he goes on a date with her and constantly saves her life.

Beck showed a more sinister side while under the influence of the power upgrade weapon, laughing maniacally and behaving antagonistically. This side has never been shown since, but (as mentioned below) some programs still remember how he behaved and have began to view him as a monster.

Beck as the Renegade

To disguise himself as the Renegade, Beck wears Tron's white light suit, which is stored on the half-disc Tron lent him. He keeps the half-disc at home, hidden on the underside of the shelf of his personal locker in Able's garage. When the half-disc is not available, Beck wears a makeshift black light suit of his own creation, modified from his own light suit, with Tron's T symbol on its chest. Both guises come with a helmet to conceal his features, as programs do know what the famous Tron looks like. While acting as the Renegade, Beck lowers his voice and does his best to assume a commanding persona, though the effect falters when he is unsure of himself.

Due to his costume, many programs in Argon City assume that he is actually Tron. While Beck has never introduced himself as his mentor, he does not deny the name when people use it in reference to him.

False Renegades

A number of General Tesler's attempts to discredit the Renegade have involved characterizing him as a terrorist, malcontent, or other form of evildoer with no care for innocent programs in his path. Gorn twice edited fabricated apparent memories of a cackling, malevolent Renegade into the identity discs of her victims, but both memories were completely fabricated. Cyrus also attempted to smear the Renegade's name by betraying and killing innocents while wearing Tron's signature white suit, succeeding to the point where all of Argon City was against the Renegade. Beck's self-worth and belief in the Renegade's mission was often severely tested by these setbacks. Eventually public opinion sways in favor of the Renegade and they protect him from Tesler's forces.

Skills and Abilities

Thanks to his time playing disc games with his friends, Beck started his career with a highly developed natural skill at throwing his identity disc; this skill and other combat techniques have been enhanced further through Tron's tutelage. He is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, which he uses to incapacitate his foes, as he dislikes killing; he is also able to use light staffs to great effect. He is talented in using parkour, both to navigate the high rooftops of Argon City and to evade his foes.

As a mechanic, Beck is well versed with the various forms of machinery found throughout the Grid. As a result, he is able to fix and operate just about any machine in the Grid, especially if the technology in question is a vehicle. He has skillfully operated light jets, recognizers, and light copters. By extension, Beck is a skilled saboteur, frequently sabotaging enemy vehicles and utilizing explosive ordinances.

Trivia

Beck's appearance in the show is different from his appearance its first trailer.

Beck's name was originally meant to be Beta, but it was changed to Beck.

Both Beck and Cyrus, his predecessor as the Renegade, were most likely named after the Cyrus-Beck algorithm, a generalized line-clipping algorithm.

After the episode "Price of Power", Beck developed a temper. An example of his temper is seen in the episode "The Reward".

Beck makes a cameo in the television series "Motorcity" as a character named "Kier".